Amarillo - yes, we know the way!

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Amarillo was our base for this trip to the USA. Once again we were staying with our good friends, Liz and Steve. It seems incredible that a whole five years has passed since our last stay with them.Back then, we were able to visit the Cadillac Ranch and go hiking in the Palo Duro canyon. This time though, we didn't spend too much time in the area as you will have seen from our other blogs!

Birthdays seemed to be the theme this time. Russ was celebrating his during our stay, and Steve cooked up some "Beer Can Chicken" to celebrate. The chicken was literally stuffed with an open beer can and cooked sat upright on a closed barbecue. It was delicious, tender and moist, and well worth trying out if you get the chance. Our trip fell almost halfway between big birthdays for both Trish and Liz, so we celebrated that too. This time there were no tornadoes, or even big thunderstorms, only sunny afternoons drinking beer on the deck. There were some big storms but we were away in New Mexico at the time. Parts of Amarillo flooded, but it was nothing compared to the devastation in southern Texas which we saw on the news.

Travelling around the city we were introduced to the super-cute prairie dogs. They are a bit like meerkats but they were very timid and getting close enough for photos was a challenge. We did manage to get a few in the end.

The main touristy thing we did this time was the American Quarter Horse Museum. We particularly wanted to visit this place t learn more about the horses ahead of our day at the races at Ruidoso Downs. Now horses are not really our thing, so we didn't expect much from the museum. What we found was enchanting and it kept us interested for a good couple of hours. We watched an informative video about quarter horses. They were specifically bred to be raced over a quarter of a mile, hence the name, and they are powerful beasts. Their brute strength makes them pretty versatile too and they are used for many different things including cattle ranching and rodeo. It was also good to see the bloodlines of the horses mapped out on the floor. Every horse today can be traced back through just a few ancestry lines.

Apart from that, it was more about seeing how people in Amarillo live, eat, and shop! On my gosh, the shopping takes some self discipline. Bed, Bath & Beyond was particularly difficult as kitchen gadgets are always hard to resist! Fans of peanut butter products should stay well clear of Walmart too. There we found a whole aisle devoted to one of Russ's favourite things and he managed to walk away without buying a thing!!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Texas
I used to live in Lubbock...not far from Amarillo. The prairie dogs are cute. Glad you took the time. Happy Birthday.